Improveivientin aerial machines



i LUNITED ATES TEN Fries.

a 1 i LUTHER o. eaownnn, or wnsr DENNIS, massnouusn'r'rs;

|MPRIQVEMENT'E'NAEQIAL MACHINES.

I Specifieation'fomning part of Letters Patent No. 35,4i37, dated Junr 3, lt fiil.

To all whom/it may concern.- I

7 Be. it known that I, LUTHER (l. CROWELL," 'ot'NVest Dennis, in the county of Barnstable and State of Massachusetts, have invented a .new and-ImprovedAerialMachine; and I dohereby declare that the following is a-full,

clear,,an'dexact descriptionof the same, ref- .erence being'had to the accompanying drawings," forming a part of this specification, in

Figure-l representsa side'elevation'of my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan ortopviewof the zsame.- Fig. 3-isa front elevation of the same.

a Similarletters of reference in thethree views indicate corresponding parts.

This inventionc'onsists in the arrangement of twoor moreyllat sharppointcd hinged' wingscapahi :of being turned up into ahori- 'zontal'poeition ordown into avertical position andof one or more .rotary hinged propellcrs the shafts .of wbich can be brought in a horizontal or in a vertical position or to any desired inclinatiom'in combination with a pyramidal winged steering apparatus or rudder and witha suitable ear,'in such a manner, that from saidcar the motion of the whole machine can be controlled .by the position given to the propellers, to the, wings, and to the rudder. 3 To enable others skilled' in. theartto make and use my invention, I will proceed to deerence to the drawings.

:stantial framework of wood or any other suitable niaterial coyeredwith oiled cloth orsilk or other materialimpervious toair or gas, and

of two or three feet between t'hetopand hot-- toin coverings; When the machine is to be "u-sed,- thisspace istillediwith hydrogen or other suitable gas. *Theiwi-ngsgare hinged to the ,lframe-worklB by means'oif "loops and eyes or *in other convenientmahne'1',:so thatthcy can he=turned down into*'a rtical -fposition, as shown in "Fig; .3 3, or i upfintoa' horizontal posi-. tion; asjshownwin Figs." l' 'and 2, theirposition wings, the ropcs1a'passi ng through arms c that scribe. its construction and operation with rcf- Thewings A-are composed .o'la light-sub they are 20 arranged that therewill be a space eing a jus ed" by 'm sropes "a w 'ef-fir'inlyxattached itoithe outer edges of 'the Qare fa'stcnedto 'thefl franie-worleB, and over a .staiidardfdydown toithe car. B, and the ropes b passing from the edge of the wings direct to a standard, e,'and thence to the interior of the car. v l

The car B is connected tothe frame-work B by means of hinges or pendants f, and it contains the engine, the operators, and, in fact,

everything intended to be carried up in-the aerial machine. terial as combines strength with lightness and its size is in proportion to the size of the wings. The standard d, which supports the ropes a for turning the wings up'into ahorizontal po sition, 'risesfromthe upper surface of car 13, and thestandard c, which supports the ropes b for turning the wings down in a vertical position, projects from the lower surface of said car, and the ropes a I) are attached to a suitable windlass or windlasses in the interior of l the car for the purpose of adjusting the position. of the wings.

. .G O "are the propellers, which are intended to. revolve in opposite directions, and which are attached to the outer ends of shafts D. A rotarymotion is imparted to these shafts'by means of linked hands or chains f, passing from themain wheel in the interior of the car over adrum,-g, that has its bearings insuitable cross-bars in the frame-work B, and from that drum 1 over pulleys or chain-wheelsh atthc- The bearinner ends of the propeller-shafts. 4 ings of said shafts are so arran ed that the shafts can be turned down in a horizontal or up in a vertical position without interruptin their. rotary motion; This object is elfecte by making the bearings near to their inner ends in. boxes 2', which are hinged to orient the crossbars of the frame-work B",andthe other bearings of, said shafts are in the 'ends of an arm or cross-bar, j, which forms a portion of'a derrick or lever frameJ k, that serves also to raise or. lower the propeller-shaftswith the propellers. The inner end, k, of the derrick jllc connects by a rope, I, with a suitable windlass in the interior of the-car in such amanner that by the action of said Windlass and rope the propeller=shafts can be raised'or" I leweredatplcasure. For the purpose of steering the machine a winged pyramidal rudder, F, isslnspendcd from the rear end of the frame-work B,.and said rudder is provided with four cross-sha 'aed'i It is constructed of such ma-- 7 arms, on, from which cords or lines extend to the interior of the ear for the purpose of ad justing the position of the rudder.

In order to preserve the water, the exhaust steam from the interior of the car may be carried through a longed curved pipe outside the car, so that the same condenses readily either in the pipe 'or in the feed-water tank, or it maybe condensed in any other desirable manner! f When it-is desired to ascend with this machine and to carry up a certain load or weight, the wings are turned down to the position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, and the propeller-shafts are turned up in a vertical direction, and when thedesired heightis at tained and it 'is desired toprogress in a hori zontal direction the wings are raised and the propellersloweretl to the ,position shown in Figs. .1 and 2.

When it is desired to employ this aerial maehlneasj an engine of war, it could be elevated,

"loaded with shell, and when arrived over the desiredspot the shell could be discharged.

and operating substantially in the manner and for thepurpose herein shown and'deseribcd.

LUTHER C. CROWELL.

Witnesses:

. QBED BAKER, 2d, ZADAK CROWELL. 

